To the angel of Messiah’s community in Smyrna write: “Thus says the First and Last, who was dead and came to life. I know your tribulation and your poverty (yet you are rich), as well as the slander of those who say they are Jewish and are not, but are a synagogue of satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. The one who overcomes shall never be harmed by the second death.” Revelation 2:8-11

The community in Smyrna are the ones who saw themselves as “first.” Additionally, Smyrna had experienced its own “death and resurrection” in 600 B.C., when it was destroyed by the king of Sardis. Not until 330 B.C. did Alexander the Great show up, igniting a “re-birth” of the city, rebuilding and bringing it back to life. The ancient writers and the people of Sardis viewed their own history as having been resurrected from the dead. In Isaiah 44:6, the prophet reminds them with these words: “This is what the LORD says—Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: 'I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God.'”

The message warns about tribulation and suffering. In the first century, Christians in Smyrna were fiercly opposed by pagans and many in the Jewish community. Christian persecution was at its height—and believers in Symrna encountered severe opposition due to the strong influence of emperor worship there. If you refused to worship the emperor, laws allowed punishment by death or imprisonment. Following John's mayrtrdom, a disciple of his named Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna 40 years later at the instigation of some Jewish people. In the face of what they were to suffer, the encouragment was this: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Yeshua offers an eternal crown—a direct contrast to “The Crown of Smyrna” that was temporal and a reminder of their past. 

The letter ends with this promise: “The one who overcomes will never be harmed by the second death (v. 11). Interestingly, the second death is not mentioned in Old Testament texts, but references have been found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. To a culture fixated on life, death, and resurrection, this promise in comforting indeed.

Death is not the end. Hope is found in the life of Yeshua the Messiah—and the eternal life He offers to those who believe on His Name.

The Seven Churches of Revelation

Community Reputation: The Suffering Church

Correction Needed: None! Rather, they received an encouragement to “not fear what is to come”

Promise Given: Overcomers will be given the crown of life, never to be harmed by the second death

A 2,000 year old underground trench continues to bring fresh spring water to the modern city above

Spiritual Inheritance

Courage through times of tribulation and testing, yielding eternal benefits that cannot be bought